'I have faith in British justice,' says businessman who lost £1m to Ponzi City broker

Former stockbroker Nicholas Levene, also known as "Beano", arrives for sentencing after pleading guilty to a £32m fraud, at Southwark Crown Court in London November 5, 2012. REUTERS/Olivia Harris (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW BUSINESS)

An Iranian businessman defrauded by a City stockbroker who lavished millions of pounds of other people’s money on himself today welcomed the 13-year prison sentence handed down to the fraudster.

Nicholas Levene, 48, orchestrated a lucrative Ponzi scheme, living the high life and raking £316 million into his bank accounts between April 2005 and September 2009.

He was locked up at Southwark Crown Court yesterday after he admitted ripping off a series of high-fliers, including Richard Caring, owner of The Ivy and Le Caprice restaurants in the city’s West End who was duped out of £10million.

Among his other victims were Stagecoach bus and rail group founders Sir Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag, who each lost £5million.

Levene, a former deputy chairman of Leyton Orient FC from Barnet, used a classic “Ponzi” scheme to con usually savvy investors into handing over up to £15 million at a time then pocketed their cash - using it to gamble, live the high life, or pay back some of his other victims to keep them quiet and to keep the scheme going.

One of his victims today praised Britain’s justice system following Levene’s jailing.

Parviz Hakim Rad’s investment company, Tadco Ltd, poured more than a million pounds into the fraudulent scheme, which contributed to it later being closed down.

The 73-year-old Iranian, who lives in Kingston-Upon-Thames, told the Standard: “Of course everybody who does wrong has to face justice.

“It was not a big business compared to all the people who had money in it. It didn’t force me to close the business but it was instrumental.

“I’ve been in the UK practically all my life and I do have a lot of faith in the justice system.”

Levene, nicknamed Beano because of his childhood love of the comic book, was a successful City worker with an estimated wealth of between £15 million and £20 million in 2005.

But he was addicted to gambling, spending fortunes on spread betting, and had an insatiable taste for luxury.

Levene, who has been seen by psychiatrists from The Priory, admitted one count of false accounting, one of obtaining a money transfer by deception, and 12 counts of fraud.

Serious Fraud Office investigators discovered that during the four years of 48-year-old Levene’s offending, he paid out £310 million from his accounts.

Some of the money was given to investors to keep them temporarily happy but he also spent massive amounts on schools for his children, cars, flash holidays for his family, yachts and properties, including a home in Israel.

He also spent £588,000 on a family celebration.

Andrew Edis QC said the devout Jew spent £18,311,076 on funding his lifestyle.